English edit

Pronunciation edit

  • enPR: chŭg, IPA(key): /t͡ʃʌɡ/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -ʌɡ

Etymology 1 edit

Onomatopoeic, in imitation of a working steam engine. The racial slur sense derives from the stereotype of Native Americans chugging alcohol.

Noun edit

chug (plural chugs)

  1. A dull, fairly quick explosive or percussive sound, as if made by a labouring engine.
  2. A large gulp of drink.
    He drank his beer in three chugs.
  3. A homemade Cuban boat, built to carry emigrants to the USA, and often abandoned upon arrival.
  4. (derogatory, ethnic slur) A person of Native American descent.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit

Verb edit

chug (third-person singular simple present chugs, present participle chugging, simple past and past participle chugged)

  1. (intransitive) To make dull explosive sounds.
  2. (intransitive) To move or travel whilst making such sounds.
    We were chugging along a back road when the engine cut out.
  3. (intransitive, by extension) To move or travel at a steady, although not especially fast, pace.
    • 1990, Wayne Jancik, The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders, →ISBN, page 130:
      Before the year was out, the girls were out of school and the foursome's "Tell Him" was chuggin’ up the charts.
    • 2019 February 27, Drachinifel, 24:22 from the start, in The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?[1], archived from the original on 3 November 2022:
      As the escort carriers chug away south, their single 5-inch rear guns are now cleared to open fire as the range closes.
    • 2019 November 21, Samanth Subramanian, “How our home delivery habit reshaped the world”, in The Guardian[2]:
      For thousands of years, human progress was indexed to the ease and speed of our mobility: our capacity to walk on two legs, and then to ride on animals, sail on boats, chug across the land and fly through the air, all to procure for ourselves the food and materials we wanted.
  4. (transitive, colloquial) To drink a large amount (especially of beer) in a single action/without breathing; to chugalug. Usually chanted at the person who is drinking.
    Chug! Chug! Chug!
    I can't believe he chugged three beers.
Synonyms edit
Derived terms edit
Translations edit

Etymology 2 edit

Blend of chihuahua +‎ pug

Noun edit

chug (plural chugs)

  1. A dog that is a cross between a pug and a chihuahua.

Etymology 3 edit

Blend of charity +‎ mug

Verb edit

chug (third-person singular simple present chugs, present participle chugging, simple past and past participle chugged)

  1. (transitive, UK slang, derogatory) To solicit charitable donations on the street, particularly in a persistent manner.
    I got chugged in the town centre today.

Breton edit

Etymology edit

From Proto-Celtic *sūgos; compare Scottish Gaelic sùgh and Welsh sudd.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

chug m (plural chugoù)

  1. juice

Derived terms edit